Not all children have the parental support, as you well know So teachers are the biggest influence in their lives. I really love hearing the stories of how one teacher influenced a person's life. It really does make a difference in which way some kids go.

At Phil's old school the parents would barely even get the kids TO school let alone care or help them. One day he came home and said half of the first grade class was missing because they were either suspended or didn't show up. First grade!! That's another thing that pissed me off about the admin, anytime a kid did something wrong they just got a suspension instead of dealing with the problem. So now you have a kid that doesn't understand what they did wrong and/or just doesn't care and also is not allowed in school thus getting further behind, and most likely not being properly cared for at home or even fed (since many of the kids got two meals a day at the school). What is with all the suspensions, especially little kids? The school system I went through rarely suspended anyone, I mean you'd have to do something like physically assault a teacher to get a suspension though now that I say it that was probably a common occurrence at Phil's school too, he was only there for a year and got his face busted in. There was a guy in the neighborhood trying to help that would go around every morning and pick up kids. Some days he was bringing like six kids to school (none his own) just to make sure they got there. I'm sure their parents never said thanks...

In my area, the inner city school has had bad stats for ever...my kids don't go there, we live in the next district. BUT this has made a huge difference in the way teachers and administration is at work...so far so good, all due to an anonymous donor(though we all know who it is) and foundation keeping it alive: https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/10t...sYouNeedtoKnow
Though of course it is up to the students to keep up their grades...anyone in this system that has been a resident from 9th grade on has access to full ride 4 yr in state college tuition. There are stipulations but it is a blessing and other cities have taken notice and followed the Promises precedent.
Still a work in progress...I don't know if I'd send my kids there for that perk, but at least they are trying.

I started early, and I combined the 11 and 12 grades, so that I could finish in three years. But I flat out hated school. And I really didn't need to be there. I didn't want to be there. In my last here I had English 3 1st period, Accounting 2 2nd period, English 4 3rd period, History 4th period, then Chemistry, lunch, Government, English Aide for the English 3 teacher, and Pre-Calc and Trig 8th period.

Because I had to babysit for my little brother and sister after school, I could not sit detentions, so If I was late, three times, I would get 1/2 day in school suspension, until they were PO'd enough to give me 3 days in-school suspension. If I missed my first 2 classes I was counted 1/2 day absent and nothing would happen to me. I only missed 2 full days in my senior year, because I was always there by History, 4th period. My final record said late: 51 days and absent 27 times. I figure I missed English 3 and Accounting 2 close to 100 days and I aced those classes. That's nuts. If I had a test or an essay due in English three I would be there all day. If I had a test in Accounting, I would get there in time to take that. If I had a test or essay due in English 4 I would get there by 9:30.

The thing about in-school suspension, was that that didn't bother me at all. I hated the kids, and the crap about school. Sitting in the tank and reading a book was easy. So you have a kid that really doesn't want to be there. So you suspend them. Yay! Now I don't need to be there. works for me.

The thing was, my grades were good, I was never a behavior problem, and they pretty much left me alone. My mom would call up in the morning and ask if I was going to school today. I would say, maybe later. And she would go to work.

Suspending a high school student for attendance just never made sense to me at all.

I'm all for public education and have no problem sending my tax dollars that way but if the schools here are the way they are now when I have kids they are not attending the ones in our district. The high school has a shockingly low graduation rate and that's even after the grading scale and academic expectations are often below like a sixth grade level. They've had so much violence the police will sit at the corners near the school when it lets out. I passed by the gas station at that corner last week because it was 3pm and I didn't have Nikon in the van, even though I'd been driving on E for two days. I don't want my kids to have a privileged, easy time of it but I won't send them to a place that can be downright dangerous even if all the teachers are great (I know a few and they are great people trying to do the best with the resources they have). I grew up in a terrible neighborhood with lots of gang activity (I was SHOT at) and being a pretty quiet, non-confrontational person after 11 years of that I'll never go back or move my family back. I know Phil would love to live in the rough inner city and loves working in those schools. I can handle him doing it for work but I'm never going back there. I grew up being afraid to play in my own yard. I am a city girl always and still live in the city proper where I can have a conversation with my neighbors through our windows and our neighborhood has its share of crime and issues but not the relentless gang activity that gets innocent people caught in the middle and kids just being stalked and picked on nonstop.

I think the best thing our parents did for us was move us out of Cleveland, where her girl friend's kids all dropped out of the public schools.

While we lived in Cleveland, they had us in the Lutheran School. We were in on a scholarship to the school in our neighborhood, but it went through the eighth grade. They were paying full price to send my oldest brother to Lutheran West. They paid for him to ride the RTA to get there every day. Then he got into a scuffle and broke his femur. That was fun, in the hospital in traction forever, than a month in a body cast at home. A tudor came in to work with him. Back in the hospital for therapy for a week, and out on crutches when he collapsed with appendicitis coming home on the RTA. The bus stop was on Pearl Road at the corner of our street, and the Bus Driver carried him home.

That was our last year there. Brian was in 8th grade so he would have been going off to Lutheran West that coming year, and Lynn was in 7th, so right behind. I was in 5th.

Moving us out, way out to the sticks. Well, the first week (we moved labor day weekend), some kid broke my brother's tooth out. Nice. Nice way to start in the new school. But that was about it, really. I think we had about 200 kids per grade at the Jr/Sr High School. Lynn, Brian and Bob all went there.

I went alone to the Elementary School. 6 sixth grades. Total culture shock.

But I never felt unsafe in the public schools out here. They would bring the dogs in to look for drugs on occasion, and boys fought now and then.

At Phil's old school the parents would barely even get the kids TO school let alone care or help them. One day he came home and said half of the first grade class was missing because they were either suspended or didn't show up. First grade!! That's another thing that pissed me off about the admin, anytime a kid did something wrong they just got a suspension instead of dealing with the problem. So now you have a kid that doesn't understand what they did wrong and/or just doesn't care and also is not allowed in school thus getting further behind, and most likely not being properly cared for at home or even fed (since many of the kids got two meals a day at the school). What is with all the suspensions, especially little kids? The school system I went through rarely suspended anyone, I mean you'd have to do something like physically assault a teacher to get a suspension though now that I say it that was probably a common occurrence at Phil's school too, he was only there for a year and got his face busted in. There was a guy in the neighborhood trying to help that would go around every morning and pick up kids. Some days he was bringing like six kids to school (none his own) just to make sure they got there. I'm sure their parents never said thanks...

One thing I do not understand is how fast you actually get suspended in the US. In Germany it takes a LONG, VERY LONG time until you get suspended from school. That is a major, very major thing to happen.

One thing I do not understand is how fast you actually get suspended in the US. In Germany it takes a LONG, VERY LONG time until you get suspended from school. That is a major, very major thing to happen.

Tell us more please? It takes things to get certain punishments but what do you mean?

I started early, and I combined the 11 and 12 grades, so that I could finish in three years. But I flat out hated school. And I really didn't need to be there. I didn't want to be there. In my last here I had English 3 1st period, Accounting 2 2nd period, English 4 3rd period, History 4th period, then Chemistry, lunch, Government, English Aide for the English 3 teacher, and Pre-Calc and Trig 8th period.

Because I had to babysit for my little brother and sister after school, I could not sit detentions, so If I was late, three times, I would get 1/2 day in school suspension, until they were PO'd enough to give me 3 days in-school suspension. If I missed my first 2 classes I was counted 1/2 day absent and nothing would happen to me. I only missed 2 full days in my senior year, because I was always there by History, 4th period. My final record said late: 51 days and absent 27 times. I figure I missed English 3 and Accounting 2 close to 100 days and I aced those classes. That's nuts. If I had a test or an essay due in English three I would be there all day. If I had a test in Accounting, I would get there in time to take that. If I had a test or essay due in English 4 I would get there by 9:30.

The thing about in-school suspension, was that that didn't bother me at all. I hated the kids, and the crap about school. Sitting in the tank and reading a book was easy. So you have a kid that really doesn't want to be there. So you suspend them. Yay! Now I don't need to be there. works for me.

The thing was, my grades were good, I was never a behavior problem, and they pretty much left me alone. My mom would call up in the morning and ask if I was going to school today. I would say, maybe later. And she would go to work.

Suspending a high school student for attendance just never made sense to me at all.

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